1. Field
The described technology relates generally to a rechargeable battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rechargeable battery is a battery that is designed to be repeatedly charged and discharged, unlike a primary battery that is not designed to be recharged. A low-capacity rechargeable battery has been used in small, portable electronic devices, such as a mobile phone, a laptop computer, and a camcorder, and a large-capacity rechargeable battery has been widely used as a power supply for, as one example, driving a motor of a hybrid car.
The rechargeable battery includes an electrolyte solution received in a case together with a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode. The case may have various shapes, such as a rectangular shape, a pouch shape, or a circular or cylindrical shape.
Among the various types of cases, an inside of a case made of a metallic material, such as aluminum, is blocked and sealed after an electrode assembly is received therein by a cap plate.
However, the metallic case may not be perfectly or completely sealed, thereby causing a problem, due to an assembly allowance or tolerance between the cap plate and the case.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology, and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.